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^[[From transcript of testimony by witnesses at the Yokohama war crimes trials.
By William Craig 1967]]

140 The Fall of Japan

arrival in Tokyo was delayed until the sixth of August. Tsukamoto was stunned at the wreckage in the capital. When he had last been there in January, before General Lemay had sent the fire bombs down from five thousand feet, Tokyo had hardly been touched by the B-29s. Now a wasteland lay before him. He hurried from the plane to the headquarters of the secret police and his new assignment.

At headquarters his arrival was a total surprise. No one had ordered his return, no one expected him, no assignment awaited him. Both Tsukamoto and his commanding officer were baffled, and neither could discover any clue to the origin of the mysterious summons to Tokyo.

Later the Kempei colonel went to the office of General Okido, commandant of the secret police, and reported the strange circumstances. Okido too was confused by the peculiar situation, but offered him a temporary assignment. He had been talking with General Anami, who was concerned about the unrest in the officer corps. Okido explained: "I have been instructed by the general to look into the talk of a coup. He wants me to watch over these people and report on their plans." Tsukamoto accepted the job of surveillance and decided to go to the War Ministry where he had many friends among the staff.

On August 11, Colonel Tsukamoto drove up the winding road to the massive cement building at the top of Ichigaya. As he entered the office area, Colonel Masataka Ida saw him and rushed up. "Tsukamoto, where have you been? We've been waiting for you."

The pieces fell quickly into place. it was Colonel Ida who had sent for him. The two had been friends for years, and since 1944 Tsukamoto had felt he owed the officer his life. At that time, when he was assigned to the jungles of Burma, a special order from Ida had brought him out before the Allies overran the Japanese defenses. Now his old friend needed him. As a participant in the officers' conspiracy at Ichigaya, he wanted Tsukamoto to help in the coup. Because of his prominence in the secret police, the colonel would be an invaluable ally when trouble began. 

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August 11-The Conspiracy Begins    141

Tsukamoto asked the obvious question: "What is this talk of a coup?"

Ida explained the situation at the Ministry in detail. The men were unhappy with the talk of surrender and might do something about it. "Suzuki is a Badoglio (traitor). He and others have surrounded the Emperor and have talked him into surrendering. We intend to take him away from them. Will you join us?"

Unaware of the intimate details of the cabinet negotiations with America, Tsukamoto cautiously answered: "I'll cooperate on two conditions. First, if the Emperor's decision goes against us, then it's all over. Second, the entire Army must rebel, not just a group here and there."

Ida was incredulous. "You mean you won't come with us in any case?" He had thought that Tsukamoto would wholeheartedly endorse the plan. 

Tsukamoto laughed. "I'll talk to you later." He walked away from his good friend, who was both annoyed and puzzled at the tenor of the conversation. 

Having thus quickly uncovered the focal point of the pending coup, the Kempei colonel went directly to Okido's headquarters and reported. Tsukamoto was ordered to keep closer watch on the situation at the War Ministry and to pay special attention to Colonel Ida's movements in the days ahead.

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     ^[[1945]]
[[yellow highlight]] On August 11, in Fukuoka, [[/yellow highlight]] one hundred miles north of the burning remains of Nagasaki, some Japanese army officers sat in their headquarters and discussed murder. Just recently, news of the atomic bombings had inflamed opinion against the Americans. In Fukuoka, it occasioned a day of violence. There, the Japanese had under their control a group of captured American B-29 crewmen who had been shot down on raids mounted from the Marianas during the past three months. [[yellow highlight]] The jailers had [[underlined]] already executed eight [[/underlined]] fliers in formal rites carried out on the [[underlined]] twentieth of June [[/underlined]].[[/yellow highlight]] Now they were preparing to kill again. 

At 8:30 A.M., a truck pulled up to the rear of Western Army District Headquarters. Thirty-two men got into the back and